The semiconductor industry is continuously moving toward the fabrication of smaller and more complex microelectronic components with higher performance. The production of smaller integrated circuits requires the development of smaller electronic components, and closer spacing of those electronic components within the integrated circuits. Many integrated circuits include memory cells to store information and other components, such as transistors that operate at various operating voltages, such as low (from about 1 to about 1.5 V), medium (from about 5 to about 8 V), and high (from about 10 to about 40), voltage devices. Memory cells are an important part of many microelectronic components, and smaller and more reliable memory cells are desirable (e.g., 28 nm and beyond). As the memory cells decrease in size, it is also desirable to decrease the size of the high voltage devices of the integrated circuit. These high voltage devices typically include a gate structure overlying a device well with the gate structure including a gate dielectric (e.g., a gate oxide) overlying the device well, a high-κ metal gate overlying the gate dielectric, a gate electrode (e.g., a polycrystalline silicon or metal layer) overlying the high-κ metal gate, and a contact overlying the gate electrode.
However, decreasing the size of the high voltage devices presents challenges to the reliability of the devices. For example, as the size of the high voltage devices decreases, reliability of its high-κ metal gate becomes a concern. While attempts have been made to eliminate the high-κ metal gate in these devices, devices without the high-κ metal gate are prone to diffusion of metal ions from the contact through the gate electrode and into the gate dielectric, which in turn may negatively impact operation of the device.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide integrated circuits including memory cells and high voltage devices with the high voltage devices free of high-κ metal gates, and methods of producing the same. In addition, it is desirable to provide the integrated circuits including memory cells and high voltage devices utilizing existing processing stages. Moreover, other desirable features and characteristics of the present embodiment will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.